Angula wins bronze in Kenya
Matheus Angula won his first medal as a disabled swimmer at the Kenya National Paralympic Committee (KNPC) National Open and Para Swimming Championships on Friday.
The KNPC and the Kenya Swimming Federation (KSF) jointly hosted the championships at Kasarani Aquatic Centre in Nairobi from 8 to 11 February.
Angula, also known as 'Spiderman', set two personal best times during the championships after swimming 2:05.95 in the 100-metre backstroke, up from his previous record of 2:06.17 to win a bronze medal for Namibia.
He also managed to break his African record in the 100-metre freestyle after he bettered his time from 1:57:80 to 1:55:43 despite not winning a medal in that event.
At the same championships, the KNPC, with the support of World Para Swimming and the Agitos Foundation (the development arm of the International Paralympic Committee), hosted an international training camp for athletes and coaches, and international classification for para swimmers.
Angula's coach Sonja Lindemeier, who also attended the coaching clinic, said Angula's performance will boost his self-esteem.
Lindemeier told Nampa on Sunday that the medal is his first as a swimmer and it will encourage him to do better in future events.
She said they had hoped to get Angula reclassified, but he has been kept in his old category.
“We are now just going to work hard so he can just be competitive in a category that has swimmers who are really fast because they have more movement (physical ability) than Angula,” she said.
Angula, who has no legs, is classified to swim freestyle in the S6 category and breaststroke in the SB5 category.
The Namibian disabled swimmer is currently ranked number one in Africa in the S6 category.
The IPC designated S6 and SB5 classes to include swimmers with a short stature, amputations of both arms or moderate co-ordination problems on one side of their body.
NAMPA
The KNPC and the Kenya Swimming Federation (KSF) jointly hosted the championships at Kasarani Aquatic Centre in Nairobi from 8 to 11 February.
Angula, also known as 'Spiderman', set two personal best times during the championships after swimming 2:05.95 in the 100-metre backstroke, up from his previous record of 2:06.17 to win a bronze medal for Namibia.
He also managed to break his African record in the 100-metre freestyle after he bettered his time from 1:57:80 to 1:55:43 despite not winning a medal in that event.
At the same championships, the KNPC, with the support of World Para Swimming and the Agitos Foundation (the development arm of the International Paralympic Committee), hosted an international training camp for athletes and coaches, and international classification for para swimmers.
Angula's coach Sonja Lindemeier, who also attended the coaching clinic, said Angula's performance will boost his self-esteem.
Lindemeier told Nampa on Sunday that the medal is his first as a swimmer and it will encourage him to do better in future events.
She said they had hoped to get Angula reclassified, but he has been kept in his old category.
“We are now just going to work hard so he can just be competitive in a category that has swimmers who are really fast because they have more movement (physical ability) than Angula,” she said.
Angula, who has no legs, is classified to swim freestyle in the S6 category and breaststroke in the SB5 category.
The Namibian disabled swimmer is currently ranked number one in Africa in the S6 category.
The IPC designated S6 and SB5 classes to include swimmers with a short stature, amputations of both arms or moderate co-ordination problems on one side of their body.
NAMPA
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